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KOTI (HOME)

KOTI (HOME) brings the Finnish communal cottage experience to life at the Finnish Institute in Paris during spring 2017. Designer Linda Bergroth’s KOTI installation was inspired by the Finnish traditions of simple hospitality and summer cabins. The project is part of the programme celebrating Finland’s centenary year in 2017.

Designer Linda Bergroth’s KOTI installation consists of six wooden cottages, which are available for anyone to reserve for an overnight stay. These cottages offer a unique opportunity to enjoy the ultimate in Finnish design, culture and accommodation. They are open to the public during the day, and anyone can visit.

The Finnish Institute in Paris is hosting the cottages from January to May 2017. The intention is to also bring them to Helsinki at a later date. The six cottages are made out of solid spruce and offer accommodation for a total of 12 people.

The spruce surfaces were not treated at all, allowing the scent of the wood to waft through the air throughout the entire exhibition. This wood scent was a new experience for Parisians in particular.

Only the doors were painted. The colours on the door were used as codes in the reservation system for the different sizes available. The colour scheme for the entire little village was kept as close as possible to the vivid palette of Finnish nature in the spring.

The design cottage village is meant to capture the Finnish traditions of simple hospitality and summer cabins. In the Finnish cabin tradition, sleeping cottages are built alongside summer cabins as needed for children and relatives. Each guest has their own private space in the cottage. People came together in the outdoors and around the shared table over meals.

In the cottage village, the private quarters open up into a communal living area where visitors can share a meal and get better acquainted with guests at the neighbouring cottages. Bergroth believes that the home is the centre and heart of life in Finland, just as it is elsewhere. For Finns, the summer cabin is almost as important as home. The summer cabin is where Finns rest, refresh themselves and spend time with the family.

The KOTI cottages have no windows, which helps protect the privacy of those inside. A horizontal grille in the facade lets light filter into the cottage and prevents those inside from feeling too closed in. The grille lets people see out, while keeping outsiders from seeing in.

The cottages were furnished in the most functional and simple manner possible. Carefully chosen, beautiful minimalist furniture and accessories combine with the natural materials and light to give a genuine Finnish feel to the cottage village.

KOTI (HOME) IS PART of the Mobile Home 2017 project at the Finnish Institutes in London, Berlin, Paris, and the Benelux countries. This programme explores the meaning of the home through art, science, social phenomena and experiences. Over the course of the year, these European metropolises will feature four different viewpoints on what the home can mean in today’s world.

Linda Bergroth joined the project at the request of the Finnish Institute in Paris. In addition to designing the cottage village, she has also served as curator of the exhibition.

Mobile Home 2017 is part of the programme celebrating Finland’s centenary year in 2017. KOTI (HOME) arrives in Finland in August 2017 and will be available to visitors for a stay in the Valkoinen Sali in Helsinki’s Tori Quarters. Reservations for the design cottages can be made through Airbnb.

The Mobile Home 2017 project of the Finnish Institutes in the Benelux countries, London, Berlin and Paris, the Finnish Institute in Paris. The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland also provided support for the project.